Edge of the Continuum
by NinjaMayhewe
Summary: Picking up where The Time Lord Lives left off, The Professor and company continue on their universal wanderings, reuniting with old friends, and foes from the past, future and everywhere between.
1. Chapter 1

The Edge of the Continuum

-Or-

The Time Lord Dies

A fanfiction by T.L.C. Productions

Written by Ninjamayhewe

Chapter 1

Life in the TARDIS was never boring. The ship rocked slightly as it travelled, barely noticed by anyone aboard the ship. The Professor hummed quietly to himself as he operated the controls of the ship, checking the monitors to be sure of their heading.

"Where to today, Doc," said Athena, emerging from one of the corridors that led to a wing of the ship.

"Brycantia," answered the Time Lord, spinning a wheel. "Stern still needs his armor replaced." He glanced to the monitor situated above him. "Sam," he said to the girl on the opposite side of the control panel. "Could you pull the—"

"Fourth lever from the right," interrupted Sam, pulling the indicated lever out. "Got it, Doc." In the several days since leaving Earth, Sam had been learning the various mechanics of the TARDIS and, much to the Professor's surprise, was getting almost as good as him at its operation.

_The TARDIS_ appeared with its usual noise, a yellowish bronze sphere in an out of the way landing bay of a ship. The doors opened with the smallest squeak and Stern stepped out first, Athena and Drake on his heels. As they stepped out into the ship, the TARDIS doors slammed behind them.

"No no no no," said the Professor, running forward to the doors. They were securely locked. "Did anybody touch the controls," he called over his shoulder. Nobody had.

The Time Lord pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket, frantically trying to open the doors as the engines began wheezing. The ship rocked, knocking the Professor off his feet. The control room tossed its occupants this way and that until, with the biggest toss yet, the TARDIS landed in a new place.

The Professor picked himself up from the floor, a slight impression of the surface of the floor left on his face and hands, the lightest bruise above his left eye. "Everyone alright," he called. He received grumbles for an answer.

"What just happened," growled Eve, looking distinctly ruffled.

"The TARDIS just flew itself," said Sam, who had managed to hold onto the console through the entire ordeal. "Doc, come over here. I can't read this stuff," she added, looking at the monitor in front of her. The Professor stepped around, looking at the circular script, his eyes darting rapidly across the screen.

"Earth, circa forty-one thousand A.D.," He said, tapping a button on the panel; the script changed, and the Professor continued reading. "Only about a month after we left Brycantia."

"Shouldn't we go back for them," said Billie, sounding more than a little concerned. The Professor shook his head.

"Can't," he said. "The controls have locked themselves for some reason." Sam pressed several buttons, each one achieving only a dull buzzing sound that resounded through the room.

"Can you fix this, Doc," said Sam.

"Nothing to fix," said the Professor, flipping a switch. "She just plain refuses to move, simple as that."

_Drake_ jumped back from the TARDIS as its engines roared into life, the ship fading away without them.

"What the hell," said Athena, standing several feet back from where she had just been. The sound of thunderous footsteps met their ears, distracting the three from the absence of the TARDIS.

"Hold on," said Drake, looking around. They were in what looked to be a storeroom. "I know that the Doc said he was setting down on Brycantia, but exactly where do you suppose we are?"

"A ship," said Stern. "Though beyond that, I haven't any idea." A door opened with a _whoosh_, and several Space Marines poured into the room. Drake had drawn his sword as the door opened, and Athena's wand was already in her hand as Stern stepped forward, scanning the newcomers.

Their armor bore a red and silver design that was foreign to Stern, though it had similarities to several designs he'd seen before.

"Who are you," demanded the marine at the head of the group, a bolter pistol pointed squarely at Stern's head.

"Stern Sabathon, Sergeant of the twenty-fifth legion of the Imperial chapter of Iron Knights," said Stern, the eyes of his helmet glowing fiercely. "I request a parlay with your captain." The Marines exchanged a glance, and with a roar, burst out laughing.

"Master Sabathon," said the head marine, his tone much lighter. "The captain has been expecting you for some time now." The three time travelers exchanged a worried glance, but agreed without a word to follow the marines to the bridge of the ship.

"If this gets us killed," said Athena to Stern as they proceeded down a long corridor. "I will murder you."

The captain of the ship was waiting at the bridge when they entered. Like the others, he was clad in strange red and silver armor that bore no shield or markings.

"Sir," said the marines who had escorted them. "As you said, Stern Sabathon has arrived to see you." The captain nodded.

"Thank you, lieutenant," said the captain, nodding. "You may return to your duties." The lieutenant nodded, leading the other marines off the bridge. The captain turned to Stern, looking him over. He seemed, to not dwell over the marine for long, though, before turning his gaze to Athena and Drake.

"I see you're all looking quite well," he said. His voice sounded familiar to the three time travelers. "At least, not as bad as I was expecting."

"Who are you," said Drake, glaring up at the captain. "You seem to know us pretty well, least you could do is introduce yourself." The red clad marine laughed heartily.

"Right," he said. "I suppose you wouldn't recognize me." He reached up, and with a single motion, removed his helmet.

_The Professor_ pressed several keys on the control panel in rapid succession. "Now," he said, pulling a monitor screen toward him. "With just a little tweaking, I should be able to get this to show us the outside."

"Or," said Eve. "We could just open the damn doors and take a look." She'd been on this tangent for the twenty minutes since they'd landed.

"Too dangerous," said the Professor, pointing the sonic screwdriver at the monitor. "Last time I just walked out after a landing like this, I almost got stabbed with a laser sword. I'm not really a fan of death, especially my own." The monitor crackled into life, showing a white marble room, a giant golden throne situated at the far end of the room from them.

"Aha," said the Time Lord. "The throne room of the Emperor of Mankind. Probably the most heavily guarded place in the galaxy right now."

"So why's it empty," said Sam, leaning in to look closely at the screen. The Professor glanced at her.

"I dunno, maybe everyone's out on a coffee break. It's the four hundred and eleventh century; things are a little different out there." Sam glanced at him, but said nothing.

"Even that throne thing is empty," she said, pushing the Time Lord away and pressing a button on the panel. The view on the monitor turned so that they could see the golden throne better and, with a click, it zoomed in on the throne.

Sam pressed a series of buttons and the screen crackled and changed, showing a reading of their surroundings. "I'm pretty sure this says the place is empty," she said, smirking at the Professor. "Unless the Gallifreyan stuff says different. The Professor leaned over, reading the text on the screen.

"No," he said. "No unknown life forms in the entire structure." He started to turn away, but looked back at the screen hastily. He pressed a button on the panel, rereading the circular text on the screen. "One known individual," he said as the person outside knocked on the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_The Captain of the ship reached up and, with a single motion, removed his helmet._ Lexus Sabathon had aged since they had last seen him; his hair was shorter and showed a slight peppering of gray. The marine smirked.

"It has been a while, hasn't it," he said, clapping his brother on the shoulder. Stern said nothing, but continued to stare at Lexus. It was Athena who spoke up.

"How did you get all this," she said, motioning at the ship around them. "Last time we saw you, you just sorta…jumped into the vortex."

"Right," said Lexus, looking at her and Drake. "I suppose affairs are slightly out of order with us. I assume then that the last time you saw me was at the black marker?" Athena nodded.

"Well," said the Captain. "_I've _seen _you_ since then, Miss Walker. But I'm afraid I can't tell you any more than that."

"And why not," said Drake, looking indignant. "We have every right to know."

Lexus smiled. "Because foreknowledge of something like those events, which is a fixed point in time, could lead you to trying to alter them, thereby causing a paradox which could rip apart the time vortex itself."

"Meaning what exactly," said Athena, pushing her glasses back up on her nose. Lexus shrugged.

"I really don't know," he said. "That's just what I was told when I was told not to tell you anything."

"By who," said Drake.

"The Professor of course," said the marine Captain.

_The Professor _pressed a button on the control panel, switching the monitor back to a view of the outside as their visitor knocked again. "Right," he said, turning a knob. "Got to increase the scan radius; let's see who's coming up here."

"I thought you said this place should be heavily guarded," said Rosie, stepping up to the panel. "Maybe it's a guard." The Professor shook his head, staring intently at the monitor as it adjusted to give a blue-tinted view through the walls.

"Nah," he said. "If it's this empty, it shouldn't have any visitors." The Time Lord spun a small wheel on the side of the monitor, and the screen changed to circular writing once more. "Well that's a bit odd," he said. "That is very very weird indeed."

"What's weird," said Sam, staring blankly at the Gallifreyan text. "You really need to teach me to read this stuff." The Professor glanced at her, smiling slightly.

"Later," he said. "But it's weird that there are only a few thousand humanoid life forms on the entire planet."

"The scanner works that far?" Asked Sam incredulously. The Time Lord shot her a glance, but said nothing.

"It travels through all of space and time and this is what surprises you," said Eve, raising an eyebrow. Sam shrugged.

"Yeah," she said. "It's kind of a piece of junk."

"Hey," said the Professor, looking at Sam. "She does the best she can. Traveling safely in the vortex isn't easy."

Sam rolled her eyes. "How many people are supposed to be out there then?"

"A few billion at the very least," said the Time Lord.

The person outside knocked yet again, this time saying, "Doc, would you let me in already?" The voice was familiar, regardless of being muffled by the doors of the TARDIS.

"No," said Billie, looking between the Professor and the doors. "It couldn't be," she said. The Time Lord darted to the doors, Rosie and Billie on his heels. The Professor threw the doors open, staring at Pi-edi for the first time in months.

"About time," said the Jedi. "It's been a while." Edi smiled around at the inhabitants of the TARDIS. He saw Sam and Eve standing at the controls and, with a smile, darted up to them.

"Pleasure to meet you both," he said. "I am Pi-edi Jowag, Master Jedi of Coruscant."

"Um," said Sam. "Sam, tech master of Earth." She looked to the Professor, who continued to watch the Jedi as Eve introduced herself.

"How are you here," said the Time Lord, stepping up to the control panel. "Ignoring the fact that Coruscant is three galaxies and several hundred thousand years away, I erased your memory. You _can't_ be here."

Edi smiled, leaning against the rail that surrounded the control panel. "I don't know how I can remember," he said. "I woke up one day and just could."

"That makes no sense," said the Professor, shaking his head. "Even then, your mind should have burned. I felt the damage, Edi. You can't be here and alive."

"Listen," said the Jedi. "There are ships outside, hundreds, and it looks like a war zone. How I got here should be the least of your worries right now. Where are the others? We need to go."

_Stern_ carefully polished his new armor, a set specially made for him in the new color scheme of Lexus' squad who called themselves the Chaos Conquerors. The members of the army were not limited to just Space Marines; there were also Eldar and normal humans, as well as a single Necron who called himself Gwillian.

They had been in hyperspace for nearly a month now using a newly developed type of engine based entirely on lost technology and, according to Lexus, would be reaching Terra within the day. Drake had kept himself busy with constant training and had impressed a number of soldiers by holding his own against three marines at once. Athena, on the other hand, was in a world all her own; bewitching things to fly at her only to blast them into pieces inches from herself.

Stern glanced at the large clock that was counting down their time before reaching Terra. It read three hours and seventeen minutes.

Lexus was, of course, on the bridge of the ship, giving orders.

"Advent in three hours, ten minutes," said one of the privates working the computers. "We are within the outer reaches of the Sol system, Captain."

"Good," said Lexus. "Stay this course."

_The Professor _pushed buttons on the panel, checking the monitor yet again. "Definitely spaceships up there; looks like an armada. The Imperial armada, I think."

"I get the feeling that's not good," said Sam.

"Probably not," said the Professor. "Definitely not." The controls gave a whistle, several lights flashing. The Time Lord flipped a switch and the monitor changed to a view of a space marine's helmet.

"Professor," said a familiar voice. "We're beaming down to the throne room." The Professor nodded to Stern's brother, smiling slightly.

"Good to see you're okay," he said. "Are Athena, Drake and Stern with you?" The Marine nodded.

"I'll explain everything when we arrive," said the marine.

_Beaming_ _was an unpleasant_ experience for Stern, who was used to being put into a drop pod. Upon touching the ground, his body was racked with a tingling sensation that he took several seconds to shake away.

The marine looked around where they had landed in awe. It was the throne room of the Emperor himself. He looked to Lexus; he had known where they were beaming to and the circumstances around the Emperor's vacancy of the throne, but somehow, he wasn't fully prepared to see the throne this close.

The TARDIS was sitting at the far end of the room, undisguised as usual. The doors opened and the Professor stepped out, followed by the others.

"Lexus," said the Time Lord, looking up at the marine. "Good to see you again." The Captain nodded, looking to the other inhabitants of the TARDIS.

Athena stepped forward, ignoring the Professor. "No," she said, looking at Pi-edi. "How are you here?"

The Jedi chuckled. "Long story," he said. "But I'm here now."

"What's going on here," said the Professor, looking at Lexus, who removed his helmet in a single motion.

"The Emperor awoke from his slumber," said Lexus. "He has fallen to Chaos. We are at war with Chaos in its entirety, embodied within the Emperor and he is going to bring ruin to the Empire, starting with Terra. We shall stop him before he can expand beyond this planet."


	3. Chapter 3

As General Stern Sabathon looked out over the lines of his brother's army, he wondered, not for the first time, whether this would be the end of his life. Of course, he knew had this rebellion happened at any other time in his life, he knew he'd be on the opposing side.

Indeed, there was still some part of him that found his current allegiance wrong. All of his adult life he'd been programmed to revere the Emperor, that he was no less than a god in human form. And now, he was fighting against those marines either too loyal to the emperor to go against him or too corrupted by the Ruinous Powers to choose for themselves.

He looked over to the Professor, conversing hurriedly with Lexus. The Time Lord was the entire reason he was here and not siding with the Imperial forces. By all rights, he should have died at the hands of Darth Craven back on Coruscant; he would have, had it not been for The Professor.

His eyes moved to Rosie, close by the Professor's side and clad in armor that originated from her keyblade; His instincts as a commander told him to put the other occupants where their skills would be most useful. But as their friend, he wanted to put them all in the TARDIS, something that wouldn't have crossed his mind before travelling on the TARDIS.

There were ships above them now, gathering above the army. Stern knew their plan was to beam soldiers directly down on top of their forces; crush the resistance with as little effort as possible so it was curious that they were waiting so long. Of course, it was likely that there were not as many troops as the enemy was hoping would show up. Though even if the enemy did get its entire army together, they would hardly be ready for the reinforcements that the rebels had brought.

Stern chuckled to himself, feeling anxious, not because of the fighting that would begin shortly, but because of the lack of it at the moment. It was a feeling he'd almost forgotten; the calm before the storm. It was not a feeling he enjoyed.

_**Sam was right at home**_; the palace of the Emperor had computer systems that rivaled her own back at home. She was almost disappointed by this fact; she'd expected better than what she could build on her own, but had set to work immediately on repairing the systems, which were in a poor state of upkeep, though she'd gotten them back to operational speed in less than ten minutes.

The palace had defensive measures that, while simple, were priceless; armed turrets that were programmed to treat intruders with no mercy and shields that prevented teleportation within the palace which she had extended to the cover their forces.

Sam watched a monitor, seeing the status of the ships above them; they were making an attempt to teleport several dozen soldiers down. She held her breath as she watched the readings on the shields. They held steady, but she knew that wouldn't be the case forever. They were testing the range of the shield; they had been for several minutes, randomly selecting areas and attempting to teleport parts of their army down.

She turned away from the monitors, dashing outside to the throne room. The Professor was just stepping outside the TARDIS as she passed. The Time Lord strode up to her, a grim look that didn't suit him clouding his face.

"The shields are holding them back for now," said the girl. "But they'll get through eventually." The Professor nodded, barely looking at her. "The palace is armed enough to help us out a little, but I wouldn't rely too much on what it can do to help us."

"Right," said the Time Lord, nodding again. "Listen," he said, looking her in the eyes. "I want you to get in the TARDIS and wait for the others. I've set Emergency Program One into effect for the moment you are all back on board."

"You're kidding," said a voice from behind them. It was Rosie. "After all the work we've gone through to make a defense for this place and you're sending us home just like that?" The Professor smiled weakly at the two girls.

"It isn't like that," he started, sounding defensive.

"Then how is it," said Sam. "Cause it sounds like you're just sending us home. You think we can't do any good out here? Billie and Athena are out there casting spells to slow them down, I put all that work into the defense systems this place already had, making them better than ever and now it just isn't any of our business what happens?"

"Listen," said the Time Lord, a strange calm taking him over. "This is a temporal tipping point. The outcome of this battle decides history for the next three millennia. But it's going to be bloody."

"We can handle it," said Rosie.

"Well I can't." The Professor stared at the keyblade wielder. "It isn't a matter of you being able to handle yourself in combat. I just can't let any of you get wrapped up in a war."

Sam sighed, trading a look with Rosie. They both punched the Time Lord in the chest.

"You moron," said Sam. "We're already tied up in it. Do you really think you can keep us away if we want to be here?

_**Commander-General Lexus Sabathon**_ was ready for anything. Almost anything. What he was not ready for, though he immediately found himself wondering why not, was the appearance of Karanak. The Blood God's fury was embodied by a gigantic monster, a flesh hound sporting flaming red skin and three grotesque heads, all snarling in his direction, though it did not advance upon him any more than the edge of their barrier. Lexus smiled to himself; it had taken Khorne long enough to send the monster after him. With a chuckle, the Marine lifted a small gun above his head, releasing a bright red flare into the air.

_**Athena resisted the urge to curse aloud**_ as a dozen Space Marines appeared a few yards away from her, sporting weapons and yelling about their god-emperor. She clenched her wand tightly, the ivy wood giving her some comfort, much like an old friend. She adjusted her glasses on her nose, and sent a jet of red sparks into the air from the tip of her wand.

_**Billie, of course, saw the sparks**_and it wasn't even ten seconds before a squad of small creatures in purple body armor appeared before her, chanting "Sontar-HA!" She smiled slightly; they were almost comical in appearance. She lifted her wand into the air, loosing a shower of sparks as well.

_**The Professor watched as **_flares lit up all around the dome of their barrier, signaling the approach of the enemy. There was a crackling in the air, and as the Time Lord looked above him, he saw a weapon of some sort charging bright red energy. There was a sound like a clap of thunder as the weapon fired, a single red beam touching the air above the army. There was a crackling of electricity as the barrier became visible as a red bubble in the air for several long seconds before, with an almighty _boom_ the beam broke through the barrier, both dispelling as the force resounded strongly enough to shake the ground. The war had begun.

_**Karanak leapt at Lexus**_, the beast's claws scraping against the commander-general's helmet. But beyond that there was no contact. The creature lay on its side several feet away. Lexus looked around, seeing Stern, his Melta pistol held aloft and charging at the flesh hound, drawing his new power sword, flames licking up the blade as he ran.

The creature had been caught unaware by Stern's intervention, but was expecting him as he approached it, power sword blazing in his hand. The marine slashed at the beast, Karanak's teeth nearly chomping his life out there and then. Stern dodged the beast's claws, managing another cut across its foreleg, but falling as he did.

It was then that several things happened very quickly; Karanak charged forward, massive jaws meant to clamp down and rip Stern's life from him. At the same time, a silvery flash passed between the two, and the Necron, Gwillian, was standing on the flesh hound's back, stabbing at it with blades built into his arms.

Karanak roared in pain and fury, pitching this way and that as the Necron severed tendons in the beast's back. Stern saw his opportunity and acted. Clenching his sword, he dove beneath the great beast, driving the blade through its heart. Karanak roared in pain and Stern felt a sharp jerk in his left arm, but ignored it, twisting the sword in the beast's chest.

_**Eve clapped her hands, **_pushing away a Sontaran with her alchemy as a flesh hound clamped onto her left arm, ripping it away in a clean motion. The alchemist glared at the creature, her arm regenerating in an instant. Her body became covered in a charcoal black armor as she jumped forward, growling at the hound. She generated a sword from nowhere, slashing the beast apart swiftly. She felt the beating of bullets against her body and, with a snarl, turned to face the attacking Space Marines.

_**The Professor looked out at the battlefield in awe**_; they were winning. He was standing at the entrance to the imperial palace, watching as the ground forces drove back the invaders. He had been directing the troops, strategizing with Sam in the palace and directing the marines through their helmets.

But now, something seemed different. Perhaps it was simply that they were winning the battle, but the air felt distinctly different though it was a feeling he'd felt before.

There seemed to be some kind of signal because, all at once, the opposing army vanished in a bright flash. There were cheers and battle cries from the crowd of soldiers, and a euphoric feeling swept through the Time Lord. He turned to Sam, who was smiling, but not cheering.

"Rebels," boomed a voice. It was deep and commanding and seemed to fill the air of the entire battlefield. "You have fought valiantly. I shall give you one hour to collect your dead and wounded. Do with your prisoners as you will, but know this, Your Emperor will be entering the battle when it resumes. I will not spare any lives."

The voice silenced, but the air remained tense, as if the emperor was still there.

_**Lexus looked over the dead and wounded.**_ It was better than he'd expected; nobody from the TARDIS was dead, though Stern had lost his left arm at the elbow.

"We've lost half of our hour," said the marine, more to himself than anyone in particular. But it was Eve who answered him.  
>"About that," she said. I have an idea.<p>

_**Sam looked out over the former city**_ that had been left in ruin. It had been ruins when they had arrived and, with a bit of disdain, she thought that this was, at one time, her home planet.

"What's the status," said the Professor, looking out at where Eve was standing, drawing part of an intricate circle upon the ground. Sam turned away from the battlefield, looking at the Professor.

"I got the shields back up, but it has a hole in it," she said.

"Let me guess, right above Eve's transmutation circle?" The girl nodded.

"We don't have enough power to raise it again though. We raised it this time and it has a hole in it almost a mile wide. This plan of hers had better work." The Time Lord chuckled. "What," said Sam, shooting him a sharp look.

"You said that,"' he said with a grim smile. "Like we'd have another chance to raise it."

_**The Emperor of Mankind**_ saw the girl tracing the circle on the ground below and though he didn't know its purpose or function, he hardly cared. Indeed, while it was his natural instinct to avoid that circle, there was a much stronger will in his mind, telling him to send his forces to the center of it. He'd felt this odd, new will in his mind since his awakening. He stood from his seat, grinning maniacally.

"Give the order," he said in his booming voice. "To teleport through the hole in their shield. I shall join the forces once they are on the surface."

_**It was like an explosion of fire and red lightning**_ when Eve activated the circle. The entire army had been standing on the array when she'd touched it and, in an instant they'd been flung into the heart of a philosopher's stone. Or at least they should have been. What happened instead was far stranger; a red stone the size of Eve's fist formed but in its wake it left, not soulless husks, but simply unconscious Space Marines. What was stranger was that while many of the Marines had been at least partially mutated, the ones that were fallen on the ground were fully and completely human.

The alchemist gasped and panted, walking from where she stood in the center of the circle toward the palace.

_**The Professor **_smiled at the alchemist as she climbed the steps, pulling her into a hug that lasted only an instant.

"We won," said the Time Lord. "Thanks to you, we won."

"Congratulations on your victory," boomed the voice of the Emperor, though this time it was quieter, almost as if it was far away. The Professor felt a chill sink into his hearts as he looked and saw the Emperor of Mankind striding toward the palace. He no longer resembled the portraits that had been painted long ago; stringy hair hung in patches that fell in every direction over flesh that looked burned and rotten. His once gleaming armor was tarnished, looking more like old brass than its former golden shade.

"However your victory is not complete until I draw no more breath." He stood at the foot of the palace steps, glaring up at the group of soldiers and time-travelers. "Will you all take me on at once then," boomed the former monarch. "Or is there one who is brave enough to face me in single combat?"

The Professor stepped forward but was pulled back by a large hand. The Time Lord spun his head, finding Lexus looming over him. The marine shook his head slowly. The General stepped forward, his voice booming out; "I accept your challenge!"

The Emperor laughed a maniacal cackle that didn't suit the ruinous giant at all. "Very well. Single combat it is then."

Lexus gripped his scythe as he stepped down toward his former monarch. The blade of his weapon glowed with a fierce energy that, he knew, didn't match the power of the Emperor's sword. The marine stood at the ready as he faced the Emperor. The Marine braced himself as his opponent swung his blade, countering his swing with the blade of his scythe. Energy crackled as the blades met, and Lexus pulled his scythe into a sweeping arc, meaning to disarm his opponent. The Emperor countered the blow, pulling his sword down and away from the marine who, with a start, saw the blade of the sword move to plunge through his chest.

It was at this point that something strange happened; the Emperor, who would never show even the slightest hesitation in dispatching any opponent, stopped mid swing, as if something had simply frozen him in time. The pause lasted only an instant, but it gave Lexus the time he needed to dodge the blade of the Emperor's sword. Lexus swung his pushed his scythe forward, knocking the emperor off balance, but his finishing blow was parried once more by the power sword.

The Emperor swung his blade at the General once more, catching his scythe at the base of its blade, severing the claw from the weapon, leaving less than a weapon and more of a walking stick. Lexus dodged the Emperor's blade once again, pulling his plasma pistol from its holster and aiming it squarely at the Emperor. The beam found its mark, something that Lexus hadn't been expecting but gave him no solace; despite the lack of care, the Emperor's armor was strong enough to withstand the shot of a single plasma pistol.

"Lexus," called a voice, calling both the General and the Emperor's attention. Stern was standing at the front of the crowd, his missing arm standing out horribly well as his armor had been removed and he had been dressed in a sleeveless robe. The Marine tossed something that shone silver in the light and, instinctually, Lexus caught his brother's sword. He acted instinctually, firing his pistol several times rapidly. He charged forward and felt the blade strike home, sinking smoothly through the Emperor's chest. As the Monarch fell, the Marine pulled Stern's sword from him, grimacing at the sight of the fallen king.

_**He was dying. The Emperor knew that much.**_ He had been killed by an upstart Marine, something he couldn't believe. He looked to the palace, his palace where for centuries he had lay waiting to be awakened. And now that he had been, his master wouldn't even make an effort to save his pathetic life. It was just as well; he wouldn't have wanted to die in any other way than battle, as he should have when he had been betrayed by Horus.

He felt his hand holding a pistol; how it had gotten there he had no idea but he didn't care. He tried to raise himself up off his back, but only managed to raise himself a few inches from the ground. He tried to aim the pistol, but his eyes wouldn't focus properly. With what seemed like more energy than it should have taken, he pulled the trigger, seeing the girl standing to the side of the blonde man in the odd coat fall to the ground. There was a shout and the sound of weapons discharging and the Emperor of Mankind saw no more.

_**It was an odd feeling, being shot.**_ She thought at first that perhaps someone had just pushed her over. Then she felt the pain of it. It burned through her chest like fire, and she heard someone saying her name. At first, she didn't know who it was. Her mind cleared enough to remind her it was the Professor. He sounded worried and she had the urge to tell him that he should just celebrate their victory; that she didn't care to hear him talk at the moment. She tried to speak but no words would come to her. But why was that.

She thought that, perhaps she lost consciousness for a minute because suddenly, she heard a sound like electricity sparking and she saw Eve standing above her, red energy from the girl's alchemy sparking back at her, pushing her away.

_**The Professor picked up his fallen companion**_, running as fast as his legs would allow. His one thought was _TARDIS_. He knew that if he could make it to the TARDIS, he could save her, though she would probably hate him for it. The doors of the ship opened as he approached, as if the ship was trying to help him, which it probably was. He heard footsteps behind him as he crossed the control room, looking back to see Pi-edi standing in the doorway.

"On the console," said the Time Lord. "There is a large blue button. Push it." The Jedi did as he was commanded and a single, metal door opened before the Professor. He ran down the hall, feeling the life draining out of the girl in his arms as he did, and dreaded either of the outcomes of this attempt to save his friend.

He found the room he needed quicker than he should have; once more, he knew it was the ship's intervention. He crossed the room at a sprint, setting the girl in what looked like a cross between a dentist's chair and a mechanical hair dryer that would be in a salon. He carefully lowered the helmet-like portion of the device, darting to a shelf covered in dozens of golden balls and, taking a breath, grabbed one. It was warm to the touch, but less than pleasant to him. He opened the top of the helmet attached to the chair and, dropping it into a slot, closed it.

"What is this place," said Pi-edi's voice.

"Back on Gallifrey," said the Professor, hastily connecting wires to the bottom of the chair. "It was possible to transfer regenerations from one Time Lord to another. It was only done by the high council in special circumstances, but it wasn't difficult.

"Toward the end of the Time War, it was commonplace for old Rassilon to take lives from just about anyone and give them to anyone else he wanted. That's what this thing is."

"Professor," said the girl. The Time Lord stood up, looking solemnly at the girl.

"How do you feel," he said. "You were shot."

The girl's eyes were dull, but she seemed to understand. "I'm gonna die," she said. It wasn't a question.

"You don't have to," he said. "I can save you, but it won't be pleasant." She nodded.

"Do it," she breathed. The Time Lord nodded, pressing a button on the side of the chair.

"Sam," he said. "You're going to regenerate. It won't be pleasant, but you will survive."

The helmet began glowing, and with a flash, so did the girl, a bright golden light that seemed to flood every inch of Sam's features, burning away the old and in a blinding explosion of gold.


	4. Chapter 4

The light of Sam's regeneration was blinding; the Professor raised a hand in front of his face, blocking the light as best he could without looking away. With a sound like a _pop_ the light died away, and the girl shot forward in the chair, long brown hair falling into her face as she panted slightly.

"Sam," said the Professor, approaching the girl tentatively. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better," said the girl. She coughed, and said, "God, it changed my voice too?" The Time Lord chuckled.

"That was what I said too," he said. He held out a hand to help her out of the chair, but she waved him away.

"Look at this hair," she said, grabbing a handful of it and pulling it in front of her eyes. "My god, it's a mile long." She paused for a second. "And new teeth, too. This is more like a renovation than healing."

"Hey," said the Professor, smiling slightly. "It's a natural part of Time Lord Biology."

Sam looked at the Professor, an odd look in her eyes. "Is that what I am now, a Time Lord?" The Professor glanced at his shoes for an instant before nodding slightly.

"Technically, a Time Lady," he said. "Or at least a partial one. There's no way to know how far the regeneration went until after the first fifteen hours of the regeneration cycle are over."

The door behind them exploded open, Rosie leading the way in with the witches and Drake close on her heels.

"Doc, what happened to Sam," said Athena, the last one in the room.

"He regenerated her," said Pi-edi, smiling slightly. The others looked aghast at the Time Lord.

"You can do that," said Billie.

"Obviously," snapped Sam, standing. She looked surprised at her own quip. "That was rude," she said. "Did you make me rude? Is that how I am now," she said, looking to the Professor who just shrugged.

"Right," said Sam, looking down. "I'm gonna need a change of clothes."

_**The Professor**_ stepped out of the TARDIS, sighing heavily. He was tired, but there was still much left to do. He looked around, trying to discern where the soldiers had taken Stern. After several long seconds, he spotted the Marine in a crowded antechamber, clogged with Space Marines, all celebrating their victory. The crowd was difficult to navigate but after a long minute, the Time Lord managed to slip past to the giant's side.

"Sam," asked the Marine, looking grim. The Professor chuckled quietly, an inaudible sound in the celebrations.

"She'll be fine. Maybe not mentally stable for a day or so, but fine otherwise." Stern smiled slightly.

"Good." The Marine sat on the floor, looking at his severed arm. "One thing troubles me, though."

"I think I know what you mean," said the Professor grimly. "Who transmatted that pistol to the Emperor…I honestly hoped your brother could answer that. Where is he?" The Time Lord looked around, half expecting to see the Commander General standing nearby.

"He went to inspect the ship," said Stern. "The Emperor might have been insane, but it's safe to assume he left some personnel onboard." The Professor nodded.

"Right," he said. "And your arm?" The Marine smirked.

"A replacement is being manufactured," he said. "It should be ready within the hour." There was a gap of several seconds' mutual silence which neither of them seemed willing to break. Finally, Stern spoke.

"Eve is tending to the ship as well," said the Marine. "It seemed fitting, since she finished their army off." The Professor chuckled darkly.

"Yes, something to go down in the history books; the entire army of Chaos was defeated by one girl from another dimension." He paused to think. "Mind you, it does seem odd, how easy that was. The Emperor was a tactical genius. Even without knowing the function of Eve's transmutation circle, he should have had the intuition to not send his entire army directly into the jaws of such an obvious trap."

"Yes," said a voice from behind them. It was the Necron, Gwillian. He had a deep, raspy voice that was difficult to discern over the bustle of the celebrations taking place. "That has been troubling me as well." He had an odd accent for a Necron; Spanish or perhaps Old Italian, though the Time Lord was more certain it was Spanish. "Such an old general should have known. Then, why did this Emperor not? It makes no sense, does it, Professor?" The Professor nodded.

"No. But I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," said the Time Lord. "Who are you?"

"Of course," said the Necron. "I am Gwillian, lieutenant of the Chaos Conquerors." The Time Lord shook his head.

"Your real name. No Necrontyr speaks with a Spanish accent." The Necron made a sound that could be called laughter, an almost cackle.

"Of course, of course. I am Josef De San Martinez. And I already know you, Professor, because we have met once before."

"You're a time traveler," said the Professor, surveying the Necron.

"Yes, but that is a tale for another day. One you shall see soon enough, I think. My point is I believe the Emperor of Mankind was being controlled by an outside force, perhaps one of the major Chaos gods."

"Impossible," said Stern. "The warp shows every sign of them having been wiped out. No palaces or anything left. In any case, we have evidence of them having been assimilated into the Emperor before the attack on Terra. They'd have been destroyed along with him."

"Perhaps not all of them," said the Professor. "If one was strong enough to take over from the inside, it would be possible for them to separate themselves from the conglomeration. More importantly, why did this only happen now? If that was all the man needed to do to repair himself, he'd probably have done it centuries ago and taken the Chaos Gods out as well. No, I think something forced this to happen, created this outcome to some ends we don't yet comprehend."

"Who could have that kind of power though," said Gwillian. "To rip the Chaos gods out of the warp and force them into a single human body…it sounds impossible."

"Not impossible," said the Professor. "Just highly unlikely."

_**Sam exited the TARDIS**_ quietly, looking around at the celebrations going on within the palace. She had changed clothes, now wearing a red t-shirt under a rust colored vest with blue jeans. She couldn't say she felt any less fond of her new form than she did of her old one, though granted the regeneration had only just happened. Still though, this body was new to her and tingled with a strange sort of energy that she'd never felt before; an itch to try and test her limits.

She braced herself and, with all her might, leapt into the air. She almost hit the ceiling, no easy task since the interior of the room was easily fifty feet tall. She tried it again, feeling both excited and terrified as she reached out a hand, touching the ceiling of the throne room as if it were mere inches from the ground. She looked at her hands, wondering what else the transformation had altered about her.

"That was impressive," said the Professor, appearing from the crowd alone. "But really, I'd suggest you tone it down a bit from now on."

"Is this normal," she said. "For Time Lords?"

"Only during the initial fifteen hours of the regeneration. The excess Artron energy flooding your body is easily enough diverted to muscle strength, or the regrowth of lost limbs or even into electrical energy to be discharged at attackers." Sam smirked slightly.

"I am a human stun gun," she said, smiling at the Professor, who smiled back. "What else is there?" The Professor shook his head.

"That is a discussion for later. First, we need to get everyone together. Lexus is giving a speech."

"Right," said Sam.

_**Commander General Lexus Sabathon**_ stood before his army, the fallen Emperor's sword sheathed at his waist. It felt odd to him, standing at the front of an army and speaking something that wasn't an order but the Professor had assured him it was for the best.

"What we have won," said the general. "Is not just this planet. It is the Empire itself. But not the Imperium. I declare that as of this day, the Imperium of Man has fallen." He paused for a long second. "In its place, we shall build the Great Human Empire. Our worlds shall be connected across the vast galaxy and we shall be as one people once again. The Gods of Chaos are no more. The God-Emperor is no more. We are free to choose our own paths from this day." There was a roar of approval from the crowd.

The Professor glanced to Billie, nodding. The Hufflepuff pointed her wand at the Time Lord, muttering "_Sonorous!_"

"Lexus," boomed the Professor, his voice magnified by a thousand times. "Congratulations. But I believe you've forgotten one thing. The Empire needs a new Emperor. And I nominate you." Lexus stared at the Time Lord in shock, as did most of the crowd though it only took a second for some of the older Space Marines to regain their voices.

The Time Lord smirked at the Space Marine before turning to the crowd. "All in favor of crowning Lexus Sabathon Emperor of Mankind," he asked. The crowd exploded into cheers and the Professor, grinning turned back to the Commander General. "Well then, long live Emperor Lexus Sabathon!"

_**The Professor smiled**_ as he turned to the TARDIS. Stern's arm had been replaced with a mechanical prosthetic, and the coronation party for Lexus was raging, which gave the time travelers the perfect opportunity to leave unnoticed.

"Come on, Doc," said Billie, slightly red in the face from the multitude of liquor available. "They were going to declare us honorary knights and give us a planet to reign over and everything." The Time Lord shook his head.

"No, no, much better this way. No point in making a spectacle of ourselves."

"Too late for that, I think," said Lexus, standing several feet behind them. "Did you think I'd let you leave without saying goodbye?"

"We were sorta planning on it," said Rosie, smiling. "Hence leaving in the middle of the party."

"That," said Athena. "And the Doc is just rubbish at a party."

The Professor shot her a look. "I'll have you know my dancing is very popular in several galaxies."

"Just not this one," said Sam.

Lexus chuckled. "Of course," he said. "I don't know if I'll see you again. "However, you shall see me all too soon. At Pandora's Box." The Professor stared. "It will make sense soon enough."

The Time Lord smiled. "Very well then. Time to go, I suppose," he said, opening the TARDIS doors. Lexus nodded, looking to his brother.

"Stern," said Lexus, unsheathing the power sword from his waist. "I wish you to take this. Use it should you have the need." Stern gaped for an instant but, with a look to his brother, grasped the handle of the sword. Immediately, brilliantly bright white flames danced up the blade.

"You have a replacement being forged then," he said, smiling at his brother.

"Well," he said. "I was hoping to borrow yours. Until you bring mine back to me that is." The General faced his Emperor, grinning before unsheathing his own sword and handing it to his brother.

"Just don't break it," said Stern, grinning as he slid the sword into its new sheath. "That'll make three and you know how I hate to replace my swords." The Emperor grinned back at his brother and sheathed the sword.

The group proceeded to enter the TARDIS, one by one with the Professor last. It was as the Time Lord was stepping into the ship that the Emperor of Mankind grabbed him by the shoulder and whispered something distressing into his ear.

"It was at Pandora's Box that you died. You told me to make absolutely certain you knew that, Professor. You will die at Pandora's Box."


	5. Anniversary Special: Time Crash

To Tessa and David, Madam Shada looked to be just an old woman. Of course, the fact that the Professor had brought them to see an old fortune teller meant that there was something special about her, though they couldn't tell what just yet.

As they entered the shop, the woman seemed to draw herself up, becoming larger than she had been; though, Tessa realized, it was simply the woman shedding the shawls she was wearing. Somehow, when she stood up straight, she seemed to become younger, though her features hadn't changed visibly.

"So," said the woman in a crisp tone. "You've regenerated again." She was speaking to the Professor who answered with a slight smirk but nothing more. As a matter of fact, the professor had regenerated a total of six times at this point in his life.

Shada sighed heavily. "You know, you need to quit wasting lives playing the hero all the time."

The Professor chuckled. "A coward dies a thousand deaths," he started.

"And a Time Lord dies thirteen," finished the woman. "So, what do you need?"

The Professor smiled sheepishly. "I can't just want to come and see an old friend?" The fortune teller glared at him.

"No," she said. "You never do. What is it?"

The Time Lord sighed. "Right," he said. "Well, first, let me introduce Tessa and David. They've been travelling with me recently."

"Of course they have," said the woman, looking the two humans over carefully. "Let me guess, 1970 and 2160?" The companions glanced to each other and then back at the Professor, who nodded smiling.

"Well," said Tessa. "I'm actually from 1973 and David's from 2167. How'd you know that though?" Shada smirked.

"When you've seen as much as history as I have, you start to recognize subtle things about how people handle themselves." The woman turned, walking to a table where she'd left a mug of hot chocolate.

"And," said the Professor, smirking. "You've been hacking into the Time Agency's records again, haven't you?" Shada shot him a glance.

"Well they aren't supposed to know that part," she said. "But it does help business if I can look ahead and give little hints."

"Isn't that cheating," said Tessa incredulously. Shada chuckled.

"Perhaps just a bit," she said. The Professor sighed, reaching into his pocket and removing a small metal box engraved with sharp, angular text.

"I need you to analyze this," said the Professor, handing the cube to the fortune teller.

"Can't your TARDIS do an analysis," she said, turning it over in her hands.

"No," he said. "There's something about it that I'm just not quite equipped to scan."

"And since I have the best tech in the universe, you thought why not see if I'd give you a hand," said Shada.

"Pretty much," said the Time Lord, shrugging.

"Every time," said the woman, shifting her table aside. "Every time I get involved with you, something goes wrong. As soon as I tell you what this thing is, we're done. Come back if you want a cup of tea or some potato soup, but not for any more favors."

The Professor chuckled. "Fine, fine. How's next Tuesday?" Tessa and David both grinned at each other and back to the Professor. Shada shot them a glance that told the Professor's companions she was not amused.

"Right," said the fortune teller, pushing a section of wall open, revealing a vast room behind it; a room too large to have fit in the small building they had entered. The woman disappeared into the room for a moment, reappearing with what looked like a set of clamps and a stethoscope.

"So," said Madam Shada. "This should give us an approximate readout of its internal properties." The Professor stepped closer, watching as she attached the clamps, trading a concerned look with the woman as the cube began shaking of its own accord.

"Crap," said Shada, removing the stethoscope from her ears.

"What," said the Professor, glancing from her to the cube, which was now emitting small blue sparks.

"It's a Fortean Gem. As in Fortean flicker."

The Professor sighed heavily as the electricity began to spark in earnest. "Crap," said the Time Lord.

**[A/N: So, it's been almost one full year since the first chapter of The Time Lord Confused was put up online and for the occasion, I thought I'd do a bit of a special event. prepare for some crack fiction. :D]**


	6. Time Crash Part 2

Rosie hummed, watching the Professor and Sam working the TARDIS controls.

"Now," said the Professor, flipping a switch. "America in 1969. NASA is preparing to go to the moon and the world is waiting for Neil Armstrong to take that first step."

"So," said Sam. "We're going to pay NASA a visit then?"

"That's the plan," said the Time Lord, checking the monitor. Suddenly, the TARDIS shook; a violent jerking motion that almost sent the Professor to the floor. The Time Lord pulled himself back up, looking at the monitor again, which didn't show any difference, as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone okay," he said, looking around. Only Sam showed any sign that something had happened.

"Are you two alright," said Rosie.

"Yeah," said the Professor, exchanging a look with Sam. "I guess you didn't feel that then." The girl shook her head.

"No, nothing. Why, what did you feel?"

The Time Lord shook his head. "I...fell down. I'll be fine."

Sam looked back to the controls, checking a gauge and flipping a switch or two before saying "Any idea what that spontaneous 'falling down' was, Doc?"

"No clue," replied the Professor, pulling a lever. As his hand left the lever, it received an electric shock, like a static discharge. "But," he said. "I have the oddest feeling we're about to find out."

_**Madam Shada and the Professor**_ watched the Fortean gem cautiously. A Fortean flicker was dangerous, but possible to contain, despite the obvious discharges it was giving off.

"Professor," said Tessa, looking worried. "Maybe we should go wait in the TARDIS."

"No," said the Time Lord, his back to them. "Any changes in atmospheric pressure could set this thing off in earnest. A Fortean flicker is the biggest source of temporal randomness in the uni—"He was cut off as the energy of a discharge engulfed the area around the gem, the Time Lord and Madam Shada included.

_**Rosie**_ saw an explosive burst of electricity engulf both the Professor and Sam, little sparks dancing through the air for a moment before a second burst left two others in their place. Standing where Sam had been was an older woman, dressed in Victorian style clothing. But in the Professor's place was someone she thought she'd never see again; the original Professor.

"The bloody hell was that," muttered the Professor, sweeping a strand of his dark hair from his eye. It seemed to take him a moment to realize that he was not alone.

"Who are you people," he said, looking between Rosie and the older woman.

"Professor," said the old woman, incredulously. "You can't be, can you?" The Time Lord rounded on her.

"It happens to be that I can and am. Now who are you?"

"I'm Sh-" She paused. "Sara McNeil. But my friends call me Sam." Rosie stared, but the Professor didn't seem to understand the gravity of the statement.

"So," said the Professor, looking between the two. "How did you get aboard my TARDIS?"

Sam – Rosie could hardly believe this was actually Sam – smiled slightly. "I don't actually think this is your TARDIS. Not yet, anyway."

"Explain," demanded the Time Lord, gaining a roll from Sam's eyes.

"I was working with a future version of you. You'd brought in an object that caused a Fortean flicker. That's how I got here and how I believe you got here as well. This TARDIS belongs to your future self as well, unless I'm mistaken."

"So what," said Rosie. "You both got mixed up in time?" Sam nodded, smiling at the girl.

"That's exactly what happened," said the Time Lady. "So, where are we right now? Eve and the Daleks? Stern and Lexus; Silurians and the Vashta Nerada?"

"Something like that," said Rosie. "We're a week out from the battle in Stern's time."

"Excuse me," piped up the Professor. "But would you two please explain to me what is going on here?"

Sam sighed. "Basically," she said. "You and I have been shuffled about in our own time lines. God knows how bad it actually is, but I'd assume it's limited to three versions of us; the first and second forms and the versions that actually caused the flicker."

"Which are how far down the line?"

"Well," said Sam. "I'm on my fourth regeneration. You, on the other hand were on your sixth."

"Good lord," said the Time Lord. "There are seven of me now?"

"So far as I know," replied the woman, flipping a switch on the control panel. "But we have bigger fish to fry at the moment."

"Being," said the Professor.

"The paradoxes being created right now throughout both our timelines," said Sam, working the TARDIS controls. "Shuffling our timelines around like this could easily rip a hole in the fabric of reality. Which is particularly bad if you didn't know."


	7. Time Crash Part 3

The Professor was thrown back by the force of the blast from the gem, hitting the floor harder than he would have liked. He looked around, checking to see that Tessa and David were alright first; Madam Shada was made of stronger stuff than normal humans, and would be okay so long as nothing had done any serious damage to her, which seemed unlikely as he hadn't been injured more than a sore backside.

"Everyone alright," asked the Time Lord, standing up. His companions grumbled, both standing fully up.

"Damn it," said a voice from across the room. The Professor's first thought was that the voice didn't belong to Madam Shada. An instant later he realized who the voice did belong to. Standing in the older woman's place and looking ruffled and annoyed, was Sam. The original Sam, from before her regeneration. "Where am I," she said, in a cool voice, looking around

"That," said the Professor. "Is hard to explain. But basically, the way it looks is that you've been shifted around on your time line."

"What does that mean," said Sam, watching the Time Lord carefully.

"Professor," said Tessa, staring at Sam. "You know this girl?" The Time Lord smiled.

"Yeah, of course. Right; Tessa, David, This is Sara McNeil, better known as Sam back in the day."

"You know me," said Sam, blank faced. "How do you know me?"

The Professor's brow furrowed, looking at his former companion. "Right," he said. "I guess I did regenerate since you saw me last. In any case, I'm the Professor. The seventh one so far."

"Professor," said Sam, her eyes showing just the slightest hint of confusion. "A professor of what exactly?" This did catch the Time Lord off guard; he hadn't been expecting the girl to be this far back in her timeline. The Professor smiled, trying to look confident.

"Not a professor, _the_ Professor. The genuine article, one might say."

"Right," said Sam. "You don't just have a degree in cheese making or something, do you?"

"No," said the Professor quickly. "Well, yes, but no."

"Right," said the girl, stepping around the table toward the door. "Well I'm just gonna go home now and try to figure out how to never get teleported out of there again." The Professor couldn't help but chuckle, thinking about the circumstances of their first meeting.

"I'd suggest against that," said the Time Lord. "It's 1870 out there. And Germany."

"Brussels to be exact," said Tessa, smiling at Sam. "You know, the place where they make those sprouts?" Sam stared.

"How can it be 1870," she said, rounding on the Professor again. "You said that I was shuffled around in my own timeline. I wasn't around in 1870."

"Spoilers," said the Professor, smiling slightly. "I'm afraid it's something that has to be lived."

"But," said David. "We can get you back to your own time easily. We just have to get you back to the TARDIS and"

"No," said the Professor, cutting off his companion. "It won't be that easy. Like I said, we can't leave this shop or the flicker will kick back up. Which is bad. Temporal instabilities are already spreading. We'll be lucky if reapers don't start showing up soon."

"Reapers," said Sam, puzzled. "Like skeletons in cloaks?"

"Worse," said the Time Lord. "Pandimensional beings that swarm the site of unstable paradoxes. They feast on the rift energy released by temporal instability."

There was a sound like electricity sparking off of metal pipes, and another person appeared in the room, shaking out her long hair. She looked around the room for a second before rounding on the Professor.

"You," said Sylvia, stepping over to the Time Lord. "Stood me up for our date."

"The world's ending, I got a little distracted," said the Professor. "Sorry."

Sylvia smiled slightly. "The world's always ending. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't put up with it." She turned to look out the glass of the front door. "But I do, so how do we save the world?" The Professor smiled.

"Wait a second," said the woman, turning again to look at Sam. "You can't be here." She looked back to the Time Lord. "Why is she here? She can't be here."

"She has a name," muttered Sam, slightly annoyed.

The Professor sighed. "Right," he said. "In a nutshell, paradox, Fortean flicker, and I'm not really sure…how to save the world." The Time Lord smiled sheepishly.

"Well," said Sylvia. "If we just get her back to her own time, the problem should fix itself, right?"

"Well, first, we'd have to stabilize the Fortean gem so the flicker wouldn't kick back up, but yes, if you used the vortex manipulator to take her home, it would probably work."

"Gotcha," said the time traveler.

"Tessa, David, we're going to need some tools from Madam Shada's back room if you don't mind," said the Professor as they sat to work.

_**The Professor –the second**_ Professor – was in his TARDIS, alone. It took him a long minute to figure out what had happened; several scans of the TARDIS later and he was certain that he'd been sent back in his own time stream.

Though he wasn't exactly certain how far back, he knew it was at the very least after the end of the time war. He looked around, unsure of what to do exactly. He had no way of directly contacting his own past, much less any idea what had happened to shift him backward in time.

As he sat in the seat attached to the console, the monitor sprang to life, a rapid beeping issuing from it. The Time Lord sprang up, pressing a button and looking to the monitor. There was a message scrolling across the screen from a time agent named Sylvia Barrow. The Professor scanned the message, a grin spreading across his face.

_**It was with a bit of a thud**_ that Sam landed on the floor. She looked around, shocked. Though she had definitely been on the TARDIS only an instant before, she was definitely back in her old bedroom.

She looked around, opening the door to peer down the stairs, a keen ear open to any sounds of activity from below. There were none. Unsurprising really; she had been alone quite often in this house in recent years. She closed the door and sat at her computer. As usual, the city's traffic cameras were pulled up on the monitor. It looked exactly as it should. Indeed, had it not been for two things, she'd believe she had simply been whisked back to the moment she'd left this room the last time.

The first was that the date stamp on the camera images read almost a full month earlier than they should; the second was that she knew such things shouldn't be possible. She'd studied the TARDIS and knew that teleports couldn't function to extract the occupants from the ship, and certainly not so easily. Obviously this was something different, but she wasn't quite certain what just yet. But she knew how to find out.

Smirking, Sam proceeded to calculate.

_**In 1870, the Professor**_ was attaching long cables to a small metal box containing the Fortean gem.

"Okay," he called as he finished attaching the last cable to a port in the top of the box. "Hit the power." He heard Tessa in the control room flip a switch and the box gave off a low humming sound.

"Right," said Sylvia. "Now we wait for the energy oscillations to hit the high point, right?" The Time Lord nodded. They waited for a long second before the humming grew louder, not by much but just enough that they knew. "I'll be back," said the time agent. And with an electrical discharge, both she and Sam were gone.

When she returned several minutes later, she was not alone. However, the Sam she had brought with her was neither the original nor the version calling herself Madam Shada; it was the girl's second form, the form she'd taken on after being wounded by the Emperor of Mankind in the battle at Terra.

"You regenerated," said Sam, smirking at the Professor.

"Funny," said the Time Lord. "How little you've changed over the years."

_**Sam's fourth regeneration**_ was far more adept at steering the TARDIS than the younger Professor, Rosie found. Of course, the Time Lord had improved to such a degree that the girl had almost forgotten the way the ship used to jump and toss in the vortex.

Luckily, Sam ad taken over the controls of the ship and had stabilized the travel in a matter of seconds.

"So," said Rosie. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Germany in 1870," said Sam, looking at the monitor. "That's where I was before this and I'm willing to bet that's where the other versions of me and the Doc will be."

"Kindly refrain from calling me 'Doc'," said the Professor from across the console. He had been sulking ever since Sam had taken over the controls of the ship.

"Right," said Sam. "In any case, if I can get back to the future version of Grumpy, I think we can figure this out. I have the stuff I need to settle the temporal instability, but finding out how messed up our timelines have gotten is another matter entirely."

"You can fix them though, right?" The Time Lady chuckled. "Of course I can fix them. Ten minutes and this whole thing might as well have never happened."

_**David stood on **_the street corner, stiff from the cold as the familiar sound of the TARDIS resounded in the fall air. He saw it materializing; a tall, pale wardrobe standing out of place next to a building a hundred feet from where he stood. He watched as a single occupant emerged; a tall blonde man in a trench coat.

The younger Professor looked around before heading in the direction of Madam Shada's shop. David turned and began walking in the same direction, stepping in the door while the Professor's younger self was still several dozen feet away.

"He's coming," said the young man, smiling at Tessa. The current Professor exchanged a look with Sylvia before nodding to David.

"Well, let him in. Or let me in; whatever," said the Time Lord, smiling slightly.

_**The Professor seemed**_ less pleased than before when the TARDIS landed after only a few minutes of flight. Sam smiled at Rosie, who knew that the Time Lord was only sulking because Sam was so much better at navigating than he was.

_**In the end**_, setting the timelines straight had been relatively simple; the first Professor went back to his TARDIS with the assurance that this was a simple abnormality that he wouldn't have to deal with again for a very long time.

"So," said the blonde Professor, smiling at his future self. "I see we still keep odd company."

"Always," said the older Professor.

"Listen," said Sylvia, smiling at the younger Time Lord. "Do me a favor and don't let the universe explode or anything until you're him;" she gestured to the older Professor.

"I'll do my best," replied the blonde, chuckling slightly. "I suppose we'd better get going though." The older Professor nodded.

"Might be best," he said as the younger version turned to leave. The younger Professor turned to see Madam Shada whispering something the ear of her younger self. Sam nodded, looking solemn.

As the Professor, Rosie and Sam left to their TARDIS, the older Time Lord turned to Shada.

"What did you just tell her," he asked, incredulous.

"Spoilers," said Sam, smirking deviously.


	8. Chapter 8

The TARDIS rocked slowly as it traversed the time vortex. It had been nearly two weeks since they had left Terra and, while this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was getting slightly tiresome for Sam, who discovered to her mild surprise that Time Lords didn't require much sleep at all.

"So let me get this straight," said Athena, leaning on the control console. "We're following a signal through the time vortex…using an algorithm you got from yourself…in the future."

"Pretty much," said Sam, smiling as she flipped a switch. Athena sighed quietly.

"I remember when the worst problem I had was not getting enough O.W.L.s," said the witch with the smallest chuckle.

"How did we ever live like that," said Billie, stepping up to the console, smiling between the two others.

"I know what you mean," said Sam, checking the monitor and pressing a series of keys, changing the screen to rapidly changing Gallifreyan circular text. "Aha," exclaimed the Time Lady as the screen stopped changing, showing a series of Gallifreyan symbols followed by words Sam did not recognize.

"What's it say," said Billie, staring intently at the screen.

"It's a set of coordinates," said Sam. "The TARDIS pinpointed when and where the signal is coming from. But this last line," she said, pointing to the non-Gallifreyan words. "Isn't in a language I know."

"That does look familiar." said Athena, leaning closer and adjusting her glasses slightly. "Where have I seen this before?" She looked to her side, slightly surprised to see Billie leaning closer to the screen.

"That's Welsh," said the Hufflepuff, gaining an incredulous look from the rest of the group.

"You speak Welsh," said Sam, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah," replied Billie, pushing her spectacles up. "That says 'big bad wolf.'"

"Telling bedtime stories," said the Professor, stepping in from a door at the other side of the control room.

_**The Professor was**_ irate. Of course, he wasn't in such a mood without reason. They were in orbit above a planet, one which Sam had apparently been trying to find for some time. While he did trust her when she told him that she simply couldn't tell him why they were supposed to be going to this planet, he was annoyed. After all, the TARDIS was _his_ ship and the girl hadn't consulted with him before flying to whatever destination she pleased.

The TARDIS set down with a dull _thud_, though it had appeared as little more than a moderately sized cabinet not unlike those in twentieth century office buildings on Earth. The doors opened, revealing the Professor, who looked around quickly before stepping back inside and shutting the door.

"There," he said, stepping back toward the control console. "We had a look around, now let's go somewhere fun. How about a flying lesson with the Wright brothers?"

"Out the doors, Doc," said Sam, pressing a button on the console and opening the doors to the outside.

_**As Drake**_ Delacroix stepped out of the TARDIS, he couldn't help but notice the bite of cold the air had to it; a faint wind blew through the trees that surrounded the ship. Night was falling. The full moon was already shining weakly.

"Earth," said the Professor, looking at the sky. "Late nineteenth century. Not a bad time, but in all honesty, I'd much rather be somewhere less…foresty."

"Too bad," said Sam, looking round. "This way, I think," she said, pointing to a trail worn in to the ground.

"You _think,_" said the Professor, incredulously. Despite this, he still started down the path. "As in, you don't know?"

Sam turned slightly red in the face, crossing her arms. "I have an idea," she said. "That's like knowing."

"That," said Rosie. "Is mental." The Time Lady chuckled.

"Tell that to the nut who said it first."

_**Night had fallen**_ when the path finally became a road, leading into a small village. The faint remains of the sunset provided the only light. From what they could see, the village had been deserted. Though there was no definite way to tell how long it had been since there had last been visitors to the town, there was an air to it of being untouched.

"Okay," said Billie, looking around. She was gripping the handle of her wand tightly. "This is just a bit creepy." Athena chuckled nervously, withdrawing her own wand from her pocket.

"_Incendio,_" muttered Athena, shooting balls of flame at the lamps hanging along the road, igniting them. The town square was just ahead of them, a small well standing in the center. At the sight of the well, Athena stopped in her tracks, color draining from her face.

"A tree," she said, almost too quietly to be heard.

"Come again," said the Professor, looking to the witch, concern clouding his face at the sight of her.

"The bell," replied the witch. "It has a pine tree on it." Standing beside, her, Billie's eyes found the town bell and her face colored with fright.

"We have to leave," said the Hufflepuff.

"Why," said the Professor. "What's going on?"

"That bell," said Billie. "Hung in the center of town in Bellamorea, the only entirely werewolf township in all of Europe."

"Crap," muttered Sam as, in the distance, a chorus of howls rang out in the moonlight.


	9. Chapter 9

They were surrounded; that much was obvious to Stern as he followed the readings displayed in his helmet. At least seventy werewolves were circling the village and the surrounding forest. Regardless of the exact number, it was too many to easily fight.

He knew about Lycanthropy; even in his time, stories of men becoming wolves were still told and there were members of other Iron Knights chapters who had actually done battle with both the feral werewolves and their more dangerous, upgraded cousins.

"How many," said the Professor, glancing at stern over his shoulder. The Space Marine thought for an instant before answering.

"Too many." The Time Lord nodded, looking grim. "We couldn't get to the TARDIS," continued Stern.

"Right," said the Professor, looking to his companions. "When they come at us, we need cover. Then we run. Straight into the houses. Don't stop and lock the doors behind you. Understood?" The time travelers nodded.

A lone howl rang out, snapping the Time Lord's attention to a spot, maybe a hundred feet away from where they stood where a werewolf stood on its hind legs. It was massive, nearly Stern's height and covered in fur the color of pitch. The lycanthrope snarled, a terrible guttural growl that sent chills down Stern's spine.

"Run," said Eve, stepping toward the werewolf, red energy sparking from her hands as she was engulfed in silvery-black armor. "I can deal with this one." The Professor nodded, looking to his companions.

"Run," he said.

_**Athena Walker**_ was terrified. Genuinely terrified of the hulking monster that was snarling, its black eyes fixed directly on her. She'd had a run-in with a werewolf in her youth and though she'd avoided contracting the condition herself, it had left a scar in her mind.

She couldn't hear the Professor talking, telling her to run. She only barely registered that someone was pulling her arm until her head suddenly jerked to the side. She looked to see Billie, a frantic look in her eyes and she understood. They ran. They ran into a building, someone's house from the look of it.

"_Colloportus_," said Billie, pointing her wand at the door they had entered. The door sealed itself with an odd sucking sound.

_**Rosie breathed heavily**_ as she used her keyblade to lock the door of the church they'd run into. A half dozen werewolves were pounding the door even as Edi and Stern helped her and Drake barricade the doors and windows.

"This is ridiculous," said Drake, slamming a heavy fist against one of the pews that remained in its original position. The sound of cracking wood could be heard.

"This town, werewolves or just life in general," said Rosie, sitting in the floor, but producing her keyblade in a flash of light.

"Hiding," growled Drake. "We could take them, no problem." He paused for a second. "We've fought things way worse than werewolves. Remember the Daleks? And the Necromorphs? Compared to that, a few dozen werewolves are nothing."

"In fairness," said Edi, who was sitting in a pew. His lightsaber was in his hand but not active. "I did almost die when we fought the Necromorphs."

"Either way," said Rosie. "We just have to wait 'til sun up. The sun rises and all the werewolves change back into normal people. Simple as that."

"Indeed," said Stern, his hand unconsciously resting on the pommel of his power sword. In the near dark, his red and silver armor reflected what little light there was, casting odd light patterns along the walls.

"Doesn't mean I have to like this plan," said Drake, unsheathing his sword as he sat down, cross legged, on the floor.

_**The Professor **_leaned against the wall of the shop that he and Sam had run into. It looked to be a repair shop; various bits of clockwork littered the shelves along with pieces of leather used for making shoes and several large piles of fabric.

"I admit," said Sam, crouched against a wall. She brushed away a stray hair from her face. "This might have been a bad idea." The Professor chuckled darkly. The left sleeve of his coat had been torn but otherwise he was unharmed.

"A bad idea," said the Time Lord. "Was when you tried to hack the Dalek Psyweb. This was a horrible idea."

"I know," said the Time Lady. "I just know I had a good reason for sending us here."

"Well," said the Professor, moving to examine the shelves of strange clockwork. "Either way, we can't die here and now."

"I know," said Sam, leaning her head against the wall.

"If we do," continued the Professor, rifling through the odd black metal gears. "It'll cause a paradox; rip a hole in the fabric of reality roughly the size of Belgium." Sam turned her head to look at the Time Lord, raising an eyebrow.

"Belgium," she asked. "Bit un-dramatic, isn't it?" The Professor smiled.

"What can I say, the universe is weird sometimes," said the Professor, picking up a large black box, a new glint in his eye.

_**Eve**_ was in an odd position; when she'd told the others to run, the black werewolf had lunged at her. In fact, it had tried very hard to rip her throat out. However, once it had realized it couldn't do that, it seemed to give up. It ran away.

Granted, there were several dozen more werewolves and they were taking it in turns to try to kill her. Luckily for her they didn't understand about carbon density or the various tiny seams in the black armor she'd transmuted from her own skin. Unluckily, there were far more of them than there were of her.

She ducked and dodged, occasionally striking a decent blow to one of them, but always refraining from using lethal force. She knew that these people weren't in control of themselves and that they would most likely be able to answer any questions that they'd have once the sun came up.

There was a crash from somewhere to her left followed by a loud _crack_. The werewolves had gotten through to one of her friends.


	10. Chapter 10

The Professor was working frantically. But that really wasn't anything new. "Why is it," said Sam. "That you work best when there's some kind of life threatening menace on our tails?" The Time Lord chuckled, suppressing a smile.

"Years of practice," he muttered, pulling several wires from the large black box and fusing them together with his sonic screwdriver. Sam sighed.

"What exactly is this thing anyway?" The device – it was certainly some kind of mechanical object – had mostly been in pieces when they had hidden in this little clock shop, but the Professor had been feverishly shoving the inner workings back inside until it looked almost like it might be a working device of some sort.

"An artificial moonlight generator."

"What would werewolves need with a fake moon? You'd think they'd want to block the moon if changing into a werewolf is such a bad thing." The Professor nodded, turning a knob within the box until a faint click could be heard.

"The average werewolf probably would. But these are extremists; I think they figured out what this thing is even if they couldn't quite get it to work. They probably thought that if they could get it to work whenever they need, they could use it to get the freedoms they've been denied."

"Not a bad plan," conceded Sam. "But why are you fixing it exactly? More moonlight doesn't seem like the best thing for us right now."

"In theory," said the Professor, sliding the top of the box back into place. "A super concentrated blast of moonlight should kill the lycanthropy virus; drown out the wolves and we just have normal people."

"Seems a little too convenient," said Sam. "Even for one of your nutty theories." The Time Lord met her eyes, but said nothing. Then the night was torn apart by a sound that chilled them to the core; a blood curdling scream of pain, but from who they couldn't tell.

The Professor leapt forward, the moonlight generator in hand as he burst out the door of the small workshop and into the street with Sam on his heels to face the werewolves and save their friend.

_**The screaming**_ reached Stern best, through the scanners in his helmet. Instinctively, his hand grasped the pommel of his sword. Drake stood his own blade in hand.

"Hell with this. I'm going," he said, striding toward the door and making to pull it open. To the S.O.L.D.I.E.R.'s surprise, Rosie, Stern and Edi were at his side, their weapons drawn as well.

"Let's do this then," said the Jedi, his lightsaber humming; the glow from his weapon cast a green glow over the room, throwing them into relief against the darkness.

"What's the outlook," said Rosie, looking to Stern. The Iron Knight only hesitated for an instant, checking the exact readings he was being shown in his helmet.

"Nine," he said. "Most of them seem to be drawn to the blood in the air but they'll probably stop if they hear us leave this place."

"Are they all in one place outside," asked Drake, fitting a small red orb into a slot in his sword. The Marine shook his head.

Edi reached out, touching the barricaded doors of the church with his free hand. "I can get the first three right now," he said. "After that though, we'll have to get out fast." The Jedi looked to the others, eliciting signs of acknowledgment from each of them. The Jedi closed his eyes and there was a sound of splintering wood before, with a crunching crash, the doors exploded outward, taking three werewolves with them as they travelled into the building across the high street.

_**The werewolf snarled **_as Billie shot a conjunctivitis curse at it. The curse did seem to have some effect on the creature; it seemed to make it angry as it chased them up the staircase and to the small bedroom at the top of the stairs. The door slammed, magically sealing itself, the werewolf smashing against the thin barrier of wood.

"Plan," asked Billie, looking to Athena. The Slytherin witch was pale, her eyes wild, tearing the room apart with her glance.

"Athena," said the Hufflepuff, stepping over and grabbing her friend by the shoulders. "Come on," she said, giving Athena a series of sharp shakes. "We need to get out of here. Now, Athena."

Athena nodded, her eyes still looking glazed but with something of herself returning.

"Window," said Athena, pointing with her wand to the window in the far wall. Billie nodded slightly.

The Hufflepuff pulled the heavy curtains aside, looking out to the high street below. There were several dozen werewolves crowding around Eve in the square. The alchemist was holding off the crowd of wolves in an easy stride, knocking each of the lycanthropes away from her as they attempted to strike.

"I think we can make a break for it," said the Hufflepuff, pointing her wand at the window, the light casting her face into relief. Athena nodded, striding toward the window and her friend. She stared down at the alchemist for a long second before pointing her own wand at the window, the glass dissolving in a whispering cascade of sand.

"Ready," she asked, her heart thundering in her ears so loudly she almost couldn't hear. Billie nodded and Athena stepped out of the window. And then the world exploded. A werewolf was on her, fangs sunk into her shoulder, pulling her out into the night.

_**Eve was fast**_. But only just fast enough. The blade that formed from her arm slashed through the werewolf's forearm, making it drop Athena before any more damage could be done to the witch. The alchemist's blade met the lycanthrope's throat and the werewolf was no more. She grabbed Athena, now unconscious, one hand over the bloody tear in her friend's shoulder.

Healing with alchemy was different from any other type of transmutation, and far more difficult, but in an instant, tight scar tissue had formed over the bite though the girl didn't stir. Eve could feel the pulse of magic that coursed through her friend, and that gave her some comfort.

"Is she alright," said Billie, her wand pointed over Eve's head at the street below. The alchemist nodded slightly, but jumped at the sound of the door in the room Billie had been standing in giving way to the beast behind it.

"_Confringo,_" shouted Billie, her wand turned to the door fragments the werewolf was clutching. The wood exploded in a rush of fiery wind, bringing a shriek of pain from the beast. "We should go," said the witch.

_**The Professor ran.**_ In his hands, the moonlight generator hummed dimly. Sam was to his left, that odd calm she sometimes felt at times like this stealing over her. This plan would work, she knew that. She had seen Eve with Billie and Athena; had seen Edi, Stern, Drake and Rosie fighting on the other end of the high street.

Indeed, the only thing really left was to make it to the town square and set off a moonlight bomb to stop a bunch of werewolves from eating her and her friends in the late eighteen hundreds. None of that sounded crazy.

A werewolf howled, high pitched and way too close. Then she saw it, an ebony thing standing in their way, its lamp-like yellow eyes glaring at them. They stopped in their tracks.

"Doc," said the Time Lady. "You still have Edi's spare lightsaber?" The Time Lord glanced across at her, then nodded slightly. "Give it to me," she said, holding her hand out for the weapon. The werewolf snarled, and she darted forward, grabbing the silver handled tube from the Professor's coat pocket.

"Sam," called the Professor, worry clear underneath the outrage in his voice.

"I'll hold this one off," said the Time Lady. "Set off the bomb." She saw him hesitate. "Go," she yelled, the blade of the lightsaber springing to life. The Professor nodded and ran for the town square and the bell with the pine tree emblazoned upon it.

The ebony wolf made a movement toward the Professor, but Sam was just fast enough, the blade of green plasma slicing through the fingers of its left hand, eliciting a howl of pain and rage from the werewolf.

"Alright Fido," said Sam, gripping the handle of the lightsaber in both hands. "Let's do this."

_**The Professor panted slightly**_ as he stood at the well in the square. The moonlight generator was humming in earnest now, and was only waiting for him to activate it. Carefully, he climbed to the top of the well and, with a breath, jumped high into the air, throwing the bomb past him with all of his might. The black box soared high into the sky before exploding into an impossibly bright light; bright enough to temporarily steal the stars from the sky and leave the Time Lord blind in the seconds following the burst of moonlight. Afterimages swam in his eyes as a chorus of howls rang out from the lycanthropes in the village. The deed was done.

_**Pi-edi**_ blinked in the blast of light, looking to the werewolves that had begun crowding their group. Something dark seemed to swell within the wolves at the light, then burst, shrinking the forms into something more human as they collapsed with a howl one by one. He looked around, feeling jubilant for an instant. Then he saw something that froze him to his bones.

There was a figure standing behind Rosie. A giant even compared to Stern and in armor the color of blood; a dark, almost black red. And then it was gone. And it had taken her with it.

_**A voice rang out in the night.**_ It came from every one of the lycanthropes and yet it came from nowhere at all.

"Time Lord," it breathed and the Professor's skin crawled. He knew that voice, had heard it in his nightmares and in his memories; the voice of Tzeentch, the god of change. "Khorne lives, Time Lord. He and I are not so easily destroyed."

"What do you want," said the Professor, his voice low, almost growling.

"Freedom," barked Tzeentch. "I want my freedom, Time Lord. I am change, the power of the spiral itself and I am not one to be chained by a false god."

"Who could possibly chain you," said the Professor, his eyes tracing the landscape of the village but seeing no sign of a warp storm.

"I may be an Eternal, but I must answer to the six-fold god. As must Khorne. And he has stolen your keyblade warrior." The Professor's blood chilled, and he looked around for Rosie, not sure what to do.

"Where did he take her, Tzeentch," growled the Professor. "You tell me right now."

"Skaro," said the Chaos God, the word piercing through the Time Lord like a burning knife. "Pandora's box," continued Tzeentch. "The torture chamber of the Daleks. I believe you know it, Time Lord." It wasn't a question. The Professor nodded.

"I do."

"Then go," said the Eternal. And even the air was still, silent, devoid of change for an instant, the only sign that Tzeentch was gone.

_**The Professor was in a rage.**_ That much was obvious. The Time Lord worked the controls of the TARDIS like a madman. He exuded an air that none of his companions had ever seen, his eyes wild as he set the ship in motion.

"What are we going to do," said Billie, a twinge of fear in her voice.

"We're going to get Lexus," said the Time Lord. "And then we're going to rip Skaro apart until here is nothing left but dust."


End file.
